Alright... this is the portion where we share tips we've learned, tricks we've discovered and thoughts we've had over the past week (or for the upcoming week!). This would also be an ideal place to share recipes, inspirational quotes, compliments you've received, etc.
I thought I'd start out this week by sharing something I discovered right after I got married when I decided it was time to shed my marriage weight. Growing up I actually struggled to gain weight. In college I never gained the freshman 15. I moved to Utah where I stayed really active, snowboarding, running, waitressing. Plus I was working two jobs and going to school full time... I often didn't have time to eat! (Not healthy, I know!!)
Then I moved to Arizona during the middle of the summer and my lifestyle changed drastically. I was living with my soon to be mother in law, who made me breakfast before I left for work in the morning, packed me a big lunch then cooked me huge dinners. Pair that with the fact that I now had a desk job and throw in the fact that it was too stinking hot to be outside, the pounds started to pack on!!
When I went to lose the weight I had to evaluate WHY I was gaining weight in the first place, especially after so many years of never gaining a pound. I knew I needed to be exercising but I decided to count my calories for a few days to see if that was part of my problem as well. For 3 days I tracked everything I ate and I got some scary results. Over the course of a normal day, with all my snacking and my not very healthy meal selections I was consuming upwards of 3000 calories A DAY!! This knowledge made me absolutely sick.
That was kind of a long winded way to get to my tips for today, but what I wanted to share with you is that being conscious of what we are putting into our bodies can be a huge part of weight maintanence. I was so oblivious to what I was eating and the amounts that I was eating. All it took for me to lose my marriage weight was to be aware of how much I was consuming and throw in some exercise. I know that this isn't the case for everyone, but such small changes made a huge difference for me.
The other tip I have is evaluate yourself... what is it that you are or are not doing that could make a huge difference in your quest for weight loss? Maybe you share one of my bad habits... skipping breakfast! Or maybe you drink pop and juice instead of the right amount of water. Maybe you don't make healthy snack choices. Like the scriptures teach us, the small and simple things can lead to great results. That concept is true in so many aspects of life, and I'm a firm believer that it applies in this aspect also!!
7 comments:
One thing I have noticed is the days that I don't have the opportunity to exercize, I tend to snack more and not be as conscious of what I am eating. If I get up and run or exercize in the morning, throughout the day I do better because I am thinking I just worked so hard, I am not going to ruin that by eating a donut for breakfast! So I try to always make myself workout to help with my eating mishaps! It seems to work for me.
One BIG thing that I've noticed in my life is that I eat what's in my house. So I don't let myself buy junk food/desserts or certain not-so-healthy snacky foods at the grocery store...and then, I don't eat them! :) When I'm hungry, I much on some fruits or veggies instead. It's great. I know that it sounds simple, but I have tons of friends who are always talking about how hard it is for them to not snack on junk food during the day..and they wouldn't be able to do that if they didn't have it around. I know its a hard decision to make in the grocery store (that's why you don't go shopping when you're hungry), but it REALLY pays off in the end.
I agree, Tiffany. And if I do happen to have like a bag of chocolates or something in the house, I'm so aware of it being there that I can't help but consume it.
My husband and I were married four years before we had kids. We got in a habit every night after being drained from school or work of watching a TV show and snacking. Since our baby was born, we've been exercising at night instead. So not only are we not eating at night, but were burning calories. It's become routine so it's not like a daily dread to do it. That alone helped my husband to lose 34 lbs. since January!
One problem I've noticed is that I tend to finish whatever my daughter doesn't eat. I'll make her a whole sandwich or quesadilla for lunch even though she rarely eats the whole thing and then I finish it off. I've stopped eating her leftovers lately and have actually started saving them, which is nice since I don't always have to prepare something new.
Linz, what do you and your husband do for exercise? This is a problem that I'm facing. I've had a membership for a club for forever but don't now. It is already to hot here in 'bama to do much exercising outside and so I'm trying to figure out what to do for exercise and if I could find something that my husband and I could do after baby goes to bed ... even better!!!
Bamamoma,
We invested in a treadmill last year. We've used it a ton! We're in a hot climate too so it's great plus we don't pay for a gym membership and we don't have to drive to get anywhere. I love it because I watch TV while I run so it goes by super fast. It was an expensive purchase but has paid off immensely. We purchased the service plan with it so we get free tune-ups. We even had a part break so we were really happy that we had bought the service plan.
My husband and I also bought a set of hand weights that has come in handy. We use them a lot while watching TV so that we don't feel quite so lazy and muscle toning is a big part of staying in shape. :)
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